1 Samuel 17:55

And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Saul	שָׁא֜וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
saw	וְכִרְא֨וֹת ve.khir.'ot	H7200	to see · conjunction + preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
David	דָּוִ֗ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
forth	יֹצֵא֙ yo.Tze'	H3318	to go (causatively · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
against	קִרְאָה qirʼâh	H7125	an encountering
Philistine	הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֔י ha.pe.lish.Ti	H6430	a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
said	אָמַ֗ר 'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Abner	אַבְנֵר֙ 'av.Ner	H74	Abner · proper noun, a man's name
captain	שַׂ֣ר sar	H8269	a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine singular construct
host	הַצָּבָ֔א ha.tza.Va'	H6635	a mass of persons (or figuratively · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Abner	אַבְנֵ֑ר 'av.Ner	H74	Abner · proper noun, a man's name
son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
youth	הַנַּ֖עַר ha.Na.'ar	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Abner	אַבְנֵ֔ר 'av.Ner	H74	Abner · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֣אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
soul	נַפְשְׁךָ֥ naf.she.Kha	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
liveth	חֵֽי chei-	H2416	alive · adjective, masculine singular construct
king	הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
cannot	אִם 'im-	H518	used very widely as demonstrative · particle
tell	יָדָֽעְתִּי ya.Da.'e.ti	H3045	to know (properly · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Samuel 16:21-22 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.
1 Samuel 17:58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:48–end

Here is 1. The engagement between the two champions, Sa1 17:48. To this engagement the Philistine advanced with a great deal of state and gravity; if he must encounter a pigmy, yet it shall be with the magnificence of a giant and a grandee. This is intimated in the manner of expression: He arose, and came, and drew nigh, like a stalking mountain, overlaid with brass and iron, to meet David. David advanced with no less activity and cheerfulness, as one that aimed more to do execution than to make a figure: He hasted, and ran, being lightly clad, to meet the Philistine. We may imagine with what tenderness and compassion the Israelites saw such a pleasing youth as this throwing himself into the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:55

Saul . . . said unto Abner . . . whose son is this youth?--A young man is more spoken of in many Eastern countries by his father's name than his own. The growth of the beard, and other changes on a now full-grown youth, prevented the king from recognizing his former favorite minstrel [Sa1 16:23]. Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 18

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:54

David took the head of the Philistine - It has been already remarked that this, with the following verses, and the five first verses of the eighteenth chapter, are omitted by the Septuagint. See the observations at the end, Sa1 17:58 (note).

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:55

And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine,.... Set out to meet him, and engage with him, as he might from the side of the mountain, where he was encamped: he said unto Abner, the captain of the host; his own cousin, whom he had raised to this high post in the army, 1 Samuel 14:50, Abner, whose son is this youth? it is thought strange by many that Saul should not know who he was, when he had been often at his court, and served him as a musician, and had been very useful to him, and he loved him, and made him his armourbearer, and even had just now conversed with him about encountering with the Philistine, and had clothed him with his own armour: to get rid of the former part o…

Dictionary and topics

Abner — Father of light; i.e., “enlightening”, the son of Ner and uncle of Saul. He was commander-in-chief of Saul’s army (1 Sam. 14:50; 17:55; 20:25). He first introduced David to the court of Saul after…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Elah, The Valley Of — (valley of the terebinth), the valley in which David killed Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:2,19) It lay somewhere near Socoh of Judah and Azekah, and was nearer Ekron than any other Philistine town. 1Sam. 17.
Elhanan — Whom God has graciously bestowed. (1.) A warrior of the time of David famed for his exploits. In the Authorized Version (2 Sam. 21:19) it is recorded that “Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a…
Philistines — (Gen. 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., “Philistim”), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the…
War — The Israelites had to take possession of the Promised Land by conquest. They had to engage in a long and bloody war before the Canaanitish tribes were finally subdued. Except in the case of Jericho…
Abner · General references — General references
Benjamin, Tribe Of · Celebrated persons of: Abner — Celebrated persons of: Abner

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 17:55

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:48–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:55

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:54

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:55

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 17:55

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:48–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:55

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:54

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:55

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 17:55-56

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 17:55-58

Rashi on 1 Samuel 17:55